A Brief Note On The European Education System - 2261 Words

In Europe the education department are constantly trying to improve and they therefore create new policies that all Member States are expected to implement to insure we are providing efficient, skilled and independent work force to help boost our economy. However many different countries within the EU have different types of education systems which causes issues in the end of year education stats as there is a variety, this therefore is an issue that Europe is working on. Even though many European countries are ranked within the top 20 it is vital that all countries follow the policies and maintain a high quality education system. In Europe there is an ongoing issue within the economy and therefore this has the domino effect on unemployment in young people. Therefore policies are being created such as increasing the link between the world of work and education to ensure young people are learning skills that will allow them to gain jobs. In this essay I will research current European education highlighting the different issues, reforms, trends and education standards. I will then compare two European countries education systems to highlight the different issues and positives that surround the country. By the end some understanding of whether the ability to learn abroad through programmes such as Erasmus can actually happen. In relevance with education funding the future of the nation state is important, the balance of public spending by the government during economicShow MoreRelatedA Small Place By Jamaica Kincaid1266 Words   |  6 Pagesproduct of colonialism. Most western education does not teach the full context of colonialism. The extension of students’ knowledge is the Berlin conference of 1884, which divided African territory between Europeans and US leaders without the inclusion of Africans. The education in the West does not delve into the impact of the conference after colonialism. 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The Technology And Collaborative Learning - 1586 Words

Information and communication have changed rapidly during the past decades, both hardware, software and networking. Many communication devices are smaller and easier to use and are more convenient. For example, smart phones, PDAs, portable computers, iPad, and tablets are important tools for study so having them smaller and easier to use is of great value. Educational policies in Thailand have packed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into the curriculum. Therefore, the current tools used in teaching need to be portable devices. Teachers and students use portable devices for sharing information, preparing reports, presentations, and communications to promote learning together. Students interact in group activities together. However, if students are unable to interact easily with others, it affects their education. If the instructor integrates technology with collaborative learning, I believe it is the best way to teach the students. In this study, the researcher develops the model of collaborative learning to enhance undergraduate students’ education. The borderless classroom utilizes both technology and collaborative learning. Research Questions 1. Study the borderless classroom: a modern collaborative learning model to enhance higher education students’ critical thinking skills. 2. Study the students’ satisfaction towards borderless classroom: a modern collaborative learning model. Rationale Many institutions offer collaborative learning instruction toShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Technology And Collaborative Learning1580 Words   |  7 PagesCommunication Technology (ICT) into the curriculum. Therefore, the current tools used in teaching need to be portable devices. Teachers and students use portable devices for sharing information, preparing reports, presentations, and communications to promote learning together. Students interact in group activities together. 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Why is there unequal division of household labour in most of the society Free Essays

string(76) " of housework as reflecting resources men and women bring to relationships\." In this article, we address the division of household labour by examining its general situation and exploring different approaches used by different sociologist to account for it. The five approaches are namely exchange theory, resource theory, Marxist feminist theory, radical feminist theory and social construction theory will be discussed. With the evidence of previous researches, the situation of division of household labour is explored and evaluated in terms of its degree of gender inequality as manifested. We will write a custom essay sample on Why is there unequal division of household labour in most of the society? or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the second part, the situation is being accounted by those five approaches so as to determine whether the situation can be altered. Household labour can be defined in a variety of ways, however, in this article, we acquire those employed by Shelton (1996), that is defined as unpaid work done to maintain family member and/ or a home, which, emotion work and other â€Å"invisible† types of work are typically excluded. Meanwhile, it is a job described as monotonous, fragmented, with low status not being treated as a â€Å"real† work, bring no financial remuneration, isolated with inherent time limits, and often received no recognition Oakley (Morris 1990:81). Since mid 1960s, researches on comparing the division of household labour between men and women has been mounting, it is not only due to the great impact of household labour on the family life of contemporary married couple, but also due to its implication of gender equality in the society to certain extend. In this article, we address this issue by examining its general situation and exploring different approaches used by different sociologist to account for it. Through this process, it is hoping to find out the most comprehensive approach so as to determine whether the situation can be altered. A great amount of researches on the division of household labour have evidenced that women share the majority of the housework with especially the responsibility for regular, routine repetitive and childcare related housework. While for men, they are more likely to perform non-routine tasks. For instance, from Chu’s research on the household distribution between women and men in Hong Kong (1997) revealed that â€Å"wife alone† occupies the largest share in taking up the actual responsibility of all the regular housework such as foodstuff buying, meal making, dish washing and house cleaning. etc.. Whereas, husband’s involvement is limited on those irregular tasks such as car washing, bill recording and maintaining and repairing household apparatus. He also find that more than one quarter of the 230 interviewed households rely entirely on wives alone to do eight items of housework. One may doubt the situation in western countries. Would the westernized value system decrease the discrepancy in the household division of labour? This is clarified by numerous researches done in UK and US recently, which suggest that the â€Å"traditional allocation of domestic work to the woman hold firm† (Morris, 1990:86). Martin and Roberts echoed with the above conclusion by reporting that 73 percent of wives and 72 percent of husbands said that most of the wife did most or all of the housework. Though, the percent decrease when the wife is in employment, yet, majority said that wife did majority of the housework. Abbott Wallace, 1997). From all these findings, we can conclude that the most notable characteristic of the current division of household labour is that whether employed or not, women continue to do the majority of housework. This pattern should never be ignored since as pointed out by several sociologists that the women’s rare continuous full-time careers or small labour-market participation are greatly affected by their family responsibilities especially the existence of dependent children (Abbott Wallace, 1997). The family responsibilities born by women despite their employment status create a dual role for them and the effects have been conceptualized by Morris in terms of â€Å"role strain†. She proposed that â€Å"it is manifest as a ‘wide’, distracting and sometimes conflicting array of role obligations† (1990:94) where the source of strain comes from the accumulation of roles and their contradictory, incompatible role expectations or from the competing demanding for time and attention. This result in overload of total demands on time and energy for women in general and may turn employment from a mean of offering positive social and psychological rewards and a major contributing factor to women’s increased liberation and independence (Pearson, 1990), to a stress for women. The tension for women between career and family is therefore is due to the unequal household distribution in the family on one hand. The inequality in power, status and wealth between men and women on the other hand is another reflection from the household distribution. However, what contribute to this pattern of household labour division? In the following, we explore five approaches in accounting this situation and concluding if it is possible for the unequal situation to be altered. The five approaches are namely exchange theory, resource theory, Marxist feminist theory, radical feminist theory and social construction theory. â€Å"Exchange theory with a view to examining family cohesion from the perspective of reciprocity and the exchange of rights and duties between husband and wife† (Morris, 1990:82). It sees marital satisfaction such as companionship, empathy and affection was attained from the instrumental exchange between economic provision and domestic labour from husband and wife respectively. From this approach, we can get inference that men spend more time in paid work while women spend more time in domestic work as they are naturally assigned to. Therefore, it fails to take account of differential power within marriage and of social status outside the marriage. That is it cannot explain why there is such exchange pattern, why man as a breadwinner and women as a housekeeper? Resource theory, an alternative approach may provide some explanation for it. It is proposed by Blood and Wolfe in 1959 (see Morris 1990) who applied the idea of differential control of valued resources and elaborated its application to the organization of household labour. This approach sees the division of housework as reflecting resources men and women bring to relationships. You read "Why is there unequal division of household labour in most of the society?" in category "Papers" The possible critical resources proposed are the educational attainment, occupational prestige and the amount of earning from labour market. It formulated that the more powerful spouses do least household labour and that if the wife does most household labour it is because she wields least power. In other words, the individual with most resources can use those resources to negotiate his/her way out of housework (Brines 1993: quoted from Shelton John 1996:304). Thus this approach assumes that housework is viewed negatively by both women and men and that they are therefore motivated to reduced their share of it. So, in this approach, division of household labour is actually an indicator of power and through which, we can understand the specific negotiations and decisions arrived at by individual couples in the organization of domestic life. Blood and Wolfe continue to argue that base on cross-cultural comparison, husband’s relatively low contribution to domestic labour is not ideologically based but a result of rational resources distribution. In other words, the man has strength in the labour market and the women have time. Nonetheless, this approach have not addressed why men has more strength in the work field with higher educational attainment, higher earning and higher occupational prestige. According to above two approaches, division of household labour should be more equally shared with recent growth of married women’s employment as well as the release of many men from the rigours the occupational system by unemployment, when, women are provided with chances to gain more resources and independence. Young and Willmott (1973; Quoted from Morris, 1990) proposed that the middle classes were at the forefront of a move towards symmetricality in marriage in which the role of husband and wife will become more identical. Wong stand in the same line with Young and Willmott stated that industrialization has substantially increased employment opportunities for women and as a result, has significantly advanced their position within the family. He observed that the wife’s paid employment has contributed to much greater equality between spouses, in sharing of household duties and in decision-making (Leung, 1996). However, hitherto tasks of wage and earning and domestic labour are still largely segregated. Many researches can only give little evidence of male unemployment leading to major responsibility for domestic work, nor even to their taking an equal share. It is because most of the researches which asserted male have participated more in domestic labour are actually based on proportional sense but not absolute sense (Morris, 1990; Chu, 1997). In this sense, the proportion of man’s contribution rises with the wife’s employment is only due to her own household labour time falls rather than to his rise. This kind of â€Å"cutting back† or the kind of â€Å"role expansion† as mentioned above is not a real reappointment of household labour. The following three approaches can provide a more in depth explanation to account for such persistent pattern of unequal household division pattern between men and women. The emergence of capitalism with the related rise of mercantilism, industrialization, and a cash-based economy, eroded the position of women by shifting the centre of production form the domestic until to the public workplace. This separation not only devalued women’s labour in the home, but it also made women more economically dependent on men† (Tilly and Scott, 1978; quoted from Anderson, 1997). This view of devaluation in women’s status is clearly linked to the raise of in dustrialization and capitalism. It is claimed that industrialization make the home became separated from the place of work and gradually women became associated with the domestic sphere, while men with public sphere, earning a wage and participating in politics. Then capitalist benefited from this segregation in domestic and earning labour as â€Å"women’s domestic labour reproduce the relations of production and also contributes to the maintenance of tolerable living standards for men and may reduce political pressure for radical change†(Abbott Wallace, 1997:201). From this approach, the division of domestic labour is related to the sexual division of labour in paid employment and this is why Marxist feminists derived women’s oppression from capitalism. It is this benefit for the capitalist help keeping the division of domestic labour in a way that trapped women in the domestic sphere by decreasing women from opportunity of promotion and high earning. This view set out to analyze the situation not simply the relationship between domestic labour and the capitalist system, but also queries the nature of the relationship between paid worker and the domestic worker. Nonetheless, as Morris pointed out, once we take the feminine nature of the domestic role as our starting point then the focus of analysis need to be directed from an exploration of the relationship between capitalism, waged labour and domestic labour, to a focus on the nature of the male-female relationship (1990:83). This change of emphasis leads us to the post hold by radical feminist, which holds that the sources of women’s oppression and domination at unpaid labourers is not capitalism but patriarchy that is â€Å"a system of values that asserts and maintains man’s dominant position in society† (Morris, 1990:83). Abbott and Wallace also proposed that it is men’s control over financial resources that gives them power in marriage and makes it difficult for a wife to be independent from her husband. Radical feminist argue that patriarchy in the patriarchal mode of production existed long before the development of capitalism. Yet, the line between patriarchy and capitalism is ambiguous as they are both historically induced from industrialization, in which separation of paid and unpaid work, and development of the role of â€Å"housewife† is evoked. This in turn developed capitalism and patriarchy intertwiningly. The picture provided by capitalism and patriarchy for domestic labour distribution is not complete if we did not take social construction theory into account. It explain why the above two ideologies about the economic structure and men respectively can have a spiral effect in the society. Sociologists who regard gender as social construction (Fenstermaker et al, 1991, Lorber 1986; quoted from Shelton John, 1996) argue that housework produces both household goods and services and gender. It is pointed out that women’s time spent on housework and men’s general avoidance of it produce and transform gender. Therefore, researches find out that women and men may view their housework as expression of their gender and that women’s attempt to think of housework as nurturance and love rather than work. This social construction of gender is a product out of the two ideologies as evidenced from institutional and normative forces and the cultural message about the role of male and female. As mentioned before, capitalism and patriarchy exploited women by depriving them to get as much power and status as men. When this is widespread and progress to become a social norm which in turn rooted into people’s mind and constructed an ideology of gender, a vicious cycle may be resulted. For instance, they employers assume that motherhood is more central to women’s lives than in career and the limited job opportunities and the low pay that the women receive may actually push them into marriage and motherhood. Women are then described to be trapped into the domestic sphere in an extreme sense as early socialization in the family, schooling, presentation of women’s role in mass media and the structure mode in society all promote the unbalance share of domestic household. This approach can account for findings about the conservative gender role held by most of women even nowadays. It is found that a few women believed their husband were not doing enough and majority did not expect their husbands to share household responsibilities equally (Yogev, 1981: quoted from Morris, 1990:101). Undoubtedly, women’s right and status are increasing with more voices against gender inequality. Yet, whether the trend of more and more obligation for a married women to became a working wife or working mother can attenuate the role specialization within the conjugal setting, depends much on the how they perceive housework and how they define fairness in the household. From the five theories discussed above, we can concluded that household labour division is inevitably a manifestation of gender inequality, while exchange theory and resources theory explain the situation with the most salient phenomenon such as material and resources allocation between men and women, Marxist feminist theory, radical feminist theory and social construction theory use a relatively more thorough approach to account for it. Therefore, we can speculated that in order to breakthrough the long-drawn practice of unequal division of household labour, women should firstly be conscious that equal share of domestic household with men is a right that is reasonable for them to pursue and secondly she has to undergo the struggle induced from the rooted cultural predisposition on the role as being a women, that is a mother and a wife. Otherwise, the spiral effect caused by capitalism, patriarchy and social construction will resist the division of household labour to change. 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Epic of Gilgamesh The friendship between the king Gilgamesh and the man of the steppe, Enkidu Essay Example For Students

Epic of Gilgamesh: The friendship between the king Gilgamesh and the man of the steppe, Enkidu Essay True friendship is egalitarian. Everything is shared, loyalty to the friendship is equal, and the basis of the camaraderie is wholly altruistic. The friendship between the king Gilgamesh and the man of the steppe, Enkidu, was not a true and equal friendship. Loyalties and sacrifices to that friendship were disproportionate. Friendship is conveyed in more than one way in Gilgamesh. The companionship between Enkidu and the animals of the steppe is the first example of friendship. Enkidu lived with the animals, as one of them: He freed them from the traps / The hunters set. A hunters son one day / Saw Enkidu opening a trap: / The creature was all covered with hair / And yet his hands had the dexterity of mens; / He ran beside the freed gazelle / Like a brother / And they drank together at a pool / Like two friends / Sharing some common journey / Not needing to speak but just continue. p. 16 Enkidus friendship with the animals was one of equivalence. Neither Enkidu nor the animals knew that he was any different from them. Enkidus appearance was that of an animal, and he knew nothing of the world of man. In this sense, Enkidu was an animal, not a man. It was only until he slept with a prostitute, shaved his body, and went into a civilized town that he became a man. This companionship between Enkidu and the animals seems more genuine, as it was cultivated over Enkidus lifetime on the steppe. Neither Gilgamesh nor Enkidu had ever had a friend that was a man before. Enkidu knew only of the steppe animals, and Gilgamesh, a tyrannical king, had never treated anyone as his equal. Both men had been informed of the future friendship from the prostitute and Ninsun, respectively. When Gilgamesh heard this premonition from his mother, he was taken aback. It will be a person, she continued / Speaking in her somber monotone, / A companion who is your equal / In strength, a person loyal to a friend, / Who will not forsake you and whom you / Will never wish to leave. / Gilgamesh was quiet at this interpretation / Of his dream. p. 19 Ninsun was right, and the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu was one of great loyalty and trust. The formation of the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu was very abrupt. Upon meeting, they fought fiercely, stopped, and embraced. This pithiness gives an air of ingenuity to the relationship, but that is later shattered by their loyalty to one another in following scenes. And they were friends: / They had embraced and made their vow / To stay together always, / No matter what the obstacle. p. 27 The most supporting aspect of their companionship was their encouragement to one another. When one of the friends faltered or showed weakness, the other reinforced fearlessness and reminded them of their friendship. he journey / That will take away our life. / Dont be afraid, said Gilgamesh / We are together. There is nothing / We should fearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Suddenly it was Gilgamesh who was afraid / Enkidu who reminded him to be fearless. p. 28, 34 Enkidus devotion to Gilgamesh is shown in their battles with both Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. By partaking in these battles with Gilgamesh, Enkidu is expressing his friendship. The conquests arent his idea, and he initially protests them, but gives in to his friends will. Enkidu dies for Gilgamesh, in essence. If not for Gilgamesh, Enkidu would not have been wounded in the battle with Humbaba, and would not have died later on. His death was a voluntary one in the sense that he died carrying out his friends mission. Gilgameshs own loyalty to the friendship seems questionable until Enkidu dies. During the battle with Humaba, Enkidu did most of the work, got hurt, and then Gilgamesh got the glory of the fatal blow. The Bull of Heavens death, however, fell on Enkidu, and it was he who faced Ishtars curse. .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .postImageUrl , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:hover , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:visited , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:active { border:0!important; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:active , .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841 .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u774b7a5c14dc1c13a548fd6a4a0b5841:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Red Room and A Vendetta EssayAs Enkidu became ill, Gilgamesh was worried that his friend would die, but seemed preoccupied with his own impending loneliness. Gilgameshs fear at the thought of his own solitude: / I cant imagine being left alone, / Im less a man without my friend. / Gilgamesh did not let himself believe / The gods had chosen one of them to die. Gilgamesh clearly mourns his friends death. It is with this mourning that his true attachment to Enkidu is expressed. He goes on a journey to find the key to immortality, trying to bring his friend back. Again we see his sadness at losing Enkidu, but it seems self-serving in essence. Gilgamesh himself is crushed by the loss, and his journey may be more for himself. He hated to be lonely, and wanted nothing more than his companion back. He recognizes Enkidus own loyalty, but immediately turns to his own sadness again. With this, the motives for the journey become questionable. My younger brother who saved me from / The Bull of Heaven and Humbaba, / Who listened to my dreams, / Who shared my pain. / Why did he have to die? / He would have stayed with me in death. / He would not have let me die alone. He was a friend. / He stopped, realizing / He had not come this far to hear himself / Recall the failure of his grief to save / But to find an end to his despair. The concept of friendship sheds new light on the epic Gilgamesh. Enkidu, a true friend to the animals and a true friend to Gilgamesh, is wholly pure and good. Gilgamesh, although seemingly changed by his companionship with Enkidu, is still self-serving. Focused on his own loneliness and journey, Gilgamesh contributes far less to the companionship and therefore causes the essence of the relationship to be tarnished.

Athenian Democracy 4 free essay sample

Who really made our type of government? We surely didn’t. It was amazingly the people of Athens. It started in 508 BC and is still around as we use it. It remains a unique and intriguing experiment in direct democracy where the people do not elect representatives to vote on their behalf but vote on legislation and executive bills in their own right Participation was not at all open, but the in-group of participants was constituted with no reference to economic class and they participated on a scale that was truly phenomenal. The public opinion of voters was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters. Only adult male Athenian citizens who had completed their military training as ephebes had the right to vote in Athens. We have had that and many other laws changed around the government. In our government every few years the people vote on new people to represent them, hence the name â€Å"Representative† Democracy. We will write a custom essay sample on Athenian Democracy 4 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However the Athenian people also voted on some of their leaders but that was done in the Agora, which is where every male land owner who is over the age of twenty would meet. This meeting was called the assembly. The assembly could be best related to our State Representatives. Then just above them was the council of 500, who monitored the assembly and gave them topics to discuss, as well as bills to vote on. Above the council of 500 come the Magistrates. The Magistrates job can be best described as the â€Å"Police in the Government. † Their job is to ensure that all the laws are being followed and act accordingly when they are not. The Magistrates, despite the amount of power that they hold, are still not the highest government official in the Athenian democracy, after them comes the Council of the 10 Generals. The Council of 10 Generals was in charge of the military. The Athens didn’t start by being a democratic city. It was started by Cleisthenes whose reforms turned Athens from an oligarchy (government by the few) to a democracy (government of the people). The key to Athenian democracy was Cleisthenes redrawing of the social-political landscape of Athens and Attica. The chief magistrate of the city was often called the Archon eponymous or ruler. His responsibilities included conducting investigations of legal cases, in particular those that involved the state. He was responsible for protecting the orphans and heiresses with no family and to appoint the choregos who was in charge of organizing the religious festivals. The move towards democracy reflects other changes in society. In the prehistoric period, throughout Greece, aristocratic families have provided the main fighting force, as cavalry. In the seventh century the Greek city-states develop the new military idea of the heavily armed soldier, the hoplite. A remorseless phalanx of hoplites becomes as effective on the battlefield as the tank in modern times. These soldiers provide their own weapons and armor, but this is expensive. Several of the Greek oligarchies, including that of Athens in the sixth century, reflect the power of this middle class of citizens. A strategic change of direction by Athens, early in the fifth century, gives these poorer citizens a new power. The military effort is diverted into building up an Athenian navy. Triremes, the fast warships of the time, need men to row them. Suddenly every citizen has a part to play, and the crews of a fleet of warships have a self-evident political strength. A more radical democracy, introduced by Pericles in 462, is almost an inevitable result. Approximately one hundred officials out of a thousand were elected rather than chosen by lot. There were two main categories in this group: those required to handle large sums of money, and the 10 generals, the strategy. One reason that financial officials were elected was that any money embezzled could be recovered from their estates; election in general strongly favored the rich, but in this case wealth was virtually a prerequisite. Generals were elected not only because their role required expert knowledge but also because they needed to be people with experience and contacts in the wider Greek world where wars were fought. In the fifth century BC, principally as seen through the figure of Pericles, the generals could be among the most powerful people in the polis. Yet in the case of Pericles, it is wrong to see his power as coming from his long series of annual generalships (each year along with nine others). His office holding was rather an expression and a result of the influence he wielded. That influence was based on his relation with the assembly, a relation that first lay simply in the right of any citizen to stand and speak before the people. Under the fourth century version of democracy the roles of general and of key political speaker in the assembly tended to be filled by different persons. In part this was a consequence of the increasingly specialized forms of warfare practiced in the later period. Elected officials too were subject to review before holding office and scrutiny after office. They too could be removed from office any time the assembly met. In one case from the fifth century BC the 10 treasurers of the Delian league (the Hellenotamiai) were accused at their scrutinies of misappropriation of funds. Put on trial, they were condemned and executed one by one until before the trial of the tenth and last an error of accounting was discovered, allowing him to go free.

Free Essays on Social Psychology

Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups, and behaviors in three general ways. First, it tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. This includes social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like trust, power, and persuasion). Gaining insight into the social psychology of persons involves looking at the influences that individuals have on the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of other individuals, as well as the influence that groups have on individuals. Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviors have upon the behavior of groups. This includes looking at things like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as behavioral entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon another group. On the one hand, Social psychology can be said to try to bridge the gap between disciplines. It can be said to be co-disciplinary with sociology and psychology, providing overlapping theories and research methods in order to form a clearer and more robust picture of social life. However, social psychologists have different perspectives on what ought to be emphasized in the field. Social psychological work can be approached with the interests and the emphases of both psychology and sociology in mind. As a result, the discipline can be split in three general subfields, which concentrate on the relative importance of some subjects over others. As sociological social psychology, this looks at the social behavior of humans in terms of associations and relationships that they have. This type leans toward sociology. One offshoot of this perspective is the Personality and Social Structure Perspective, which emphasizes the li... Free Essays on Social Psychology Free Essays on Social Psychology Social psychology attempts to understand the relationship between minds, groups, and behaviors in three general ways. First, it tries to see how the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. This includes social perception, social interaction, and the many kinds of social influence (like trust, power, and persuasion). Gaining insight into the social psychology of persons involves looking at the influences that individuals have on the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of other individuals, as well as the influence that groups have on individuals. Second, it tries to understand the influence that individual perceptions and behaviors have upon the behavior of groups. This includes looking at things like group productivity in the workplace and group decision making. Third, and finally, social psychology tries to understand groups themselves as behavioral entities, and the relationships and influences that one group has upon another group. On the one hand, Social psychology can be said to try to bridge the gap between disciplines. It can be said to be co-disciplinary with sociology and psychology, providing overlapping theories and research methods in order to form a clearer and more robust picture of social life. However, social psychologists have different perspectives on what ought to be emphasized in the field. Social psychological work can be approached with the interests and the emphases of both psychology and sociology in mind. As a result, the discipline can be split in three general subfields, which concentrate on the relative importance of some subjects over others. As sociological social psychology, this looks at the social behavior of humans in terms of associations and relationships that they have. This type leans toward sociology. One offshoot of this perspective is the Personality and Social Structure Perspective, which emphasizes the li...

Athlete and (a type of supplement) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Athlete and (a type of supplement) - Essay Example The study aimed to asses the effect of these on strength, body composition, and plasma glutamine levels during a 10 week, supervised resistance training program. The results revealed that there was no change in plasma glutamine levels in either group. The group, which received whey isolate, showed a significantly greater gain in lean mass, change in fat mass and improvements in strength, when compared to the group, which received casein. Burke et al., 2001, assessed the muscular adaptations, which occurred in 36 males randomly assigned to supplementation with whey protein alone, whey protein and creatine monohydrate, or placebo. The results indicated that the group, which supplemented with whey protein, had greater improvement in knee extension peak torque and lean tissue mass than those who trained with placebo. Those who supplemented with a combination of whey protein and creatine had greater increases in lean tissue mass and bench press than those who supplemented with only whey protein or placebo. However, it was noted that not all strength measures were improved with supplementation; the group who supplemented with creatine and/or whey protein and the placebo group had similar increases in squat strength and knee flexion peak torque. Cribb et al., 2007, aimed to examine the effects of whey protein (WP) and creatine monohydrate (CrM) (both separately and in combination), on body composition, muscle strength, fiber-specific hypertrophy (i.e., type I, IIa, IIx), and contractile protein accrual during a 11-week structured, supervised RE program. This was a double-blind randomized study involving resistance-trained males placed into one of the four groups: creatine/carbohydrate (CrCHO), creatine/whey protein (CrWP), whey protein (WP) only, or carbohydrate only (CHO). Assessments (completed the week before and after the RE program) included strength (1RM, three exercises), body composition (DEXA), and vastus lateralis

Comparative Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Comparative Justice - Essay Example tries to delve into the basis of the US legal system, it becomes lucidly clear that the US legal system as per the Judi-Christian tradition, traces its origins in relation to some divine power. The US notions of justice, fairness and honesty have their moorings in the Biblical texts. Similarly, the Islamic law traces its origins to the Holy Quran and the Islamic legal system believes law to be an expression of the will of God (Terrill, 2009). The other pivotal fact is that the US legal system tends to employ the tool of law to shape a specific type of society that is in consonance with the essential American values and ethics. In other words, In America, the law is also considered to be a means of shaping and constructing a desirable society. In that context, the purpose of Islamic law is also the same. The Islamic law also intends to shape a society that is in consonance with the quintessential Islamic values, ethics and aspirations. However, there exist also marked differences between the Islamic legal system and the US legal system. The US legal system tends to guide and restrain the actions of its denizens within a defined social domain. In contrast, the Islamic legal system not only pertains to the legal rights and obligations of its citizens but also tends to define their ethical aspirations. In other words an Islamic legal system not only governs as to what its citizens could do, but also defines as to what they cannot do (Terrill, 2009, p. 612). The second thing is that the US legal system is subservient to the requirements of the time and social circumstances that is the US law is open to relative interpretations. However, the Islamic legal system considers Sharia to be an expression of the will of God that is sacrosanct and unchangeable in all times and societies (Terrill, 2009, p. 598). As per the Islamic legal system, it is not the law that is subservient to the requirements of the society, but rather it is the society that is to mould itself as per

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons Research Paper

Iran and Its Pursuit Of Nuclear weapons - Research Paper Example As such, the Iranian government continued with their projects to generate energy meant to serve its population that was more than 75 million, where political and other aspects took over the thinking portion over nuclear technology. Following this, political forces came into being, where they viewed nuclear technology as more than a technology meant to generate energy and power for its people. This became the driving force away from mere energy production and into production of nuclear weapons, a project that America and other world powers are against. Estimates to nuclear capability in recent times show that Iran stands a good chance to develop their uranium and include it in the production of weapons of mass destruction. This is especially so for nuclear weapons, as there is evidence in recent suggesting that the country stands a chance to begin uranium enrichment. Reasons for the pursuit of nuclear weaponry by Iran lie in the attempts by American to impose their opinions and ideolo gies on Iranians through their support for their initial nuclear project. This created the idea that the Iranians were being sidelined in their own land and in their own projects in that to them the Americans intended to take over that which belonged to them. With this in mind, the main cause that can be attributed to the deviation from the original plan can be seen in the prisoners of insecurity. This is because with nuclear power, where power stands for nuclear capability in weapons, the Iranians stand a chance to have power to eliminate threats and not be victims of world powers influencing them. In addition, the move from nuclear power to pursuits of nuclear weapons can be attributed to an aspiration of prestige, where Iran and Iraq have a bitter rivalry for the control or power in the Persian Gulf region (Dorraj 326). With nuclear capabilities, Iran stands a chance to overcome other regional and international powers, where it can manage to negotiate its way into and out of deal s that are not suitable. This also translates to international recognition as a nuclear arsenal has helped some countries into positions of power on an international scale as it also depicts the presence of technological advancement. The reasons for Iran having pursuits for nuclear weapons can therefore be attributed to image of Iran towards the outside world and the international community, as well as the state of security of the country from external forces. The consequences of Iran and its pursuits of nuclear weapons have been sanctions against Iran, where policy makers have been formulating sanctions to curb the spread of the nuclear pursuits and prevent its development. Sanctions have been employed by the US, where it has used its foreign policy to ensure that it threatens Iran against developing nuclear weapons, where its economic ability has been the main weapon. As a result, the United States has sanctioned Iran by curtailing political, economic and diplomatic relations as i t is considered to use its nuclear capabilities to fund and support terrorist activities, as well as oppose Israel (Cohen 10). The sanctions, however, have not worked to ensure that the pursuit ceases as the sanctioned aspects of Iran have been taken over by other countries that have sought to take over that which ten Americans and other countries t

Analysis Of Claude Steeles Whistling Vivaldi

Analysis Of Claude Steeles Whistling Vivaldi This semester has proven to be a very useful for the development of both my reading and writings skills. For me, as for a person who merely five months ago came from a country where English language is known by a few, this experience was vital in a way that it opened up the secrets of effective reading, writing and analyzing in English language. Before taking the College Writing course I had a hard time understanding the proper writing process, which seemed very vague to me, but as I began taking my first steps in trying to understand it I have realized that it was only fear that took over me. Although many would think that the final result is only what matters, for me the process was more engaging. The course has offered a wide range of reading and writing techniques and styles, thus taught me to transfer my ideas to paper clearly and effectively. However, applying theory in practice would have been much harder if there were not the preparatory writing assignments that we had throug hout semester. The essays and papers we wrote throughout semester helped me to trace my progress in writing process. They helped me comfortably and very efficiently write papers based on academic journals and articles. In the beginning of the semester, one of my weaknesses was the organization of sentences and paragraphs. The process of writing an essay has changed over the semester. At first I would start writing essay by putting all of my ideas onto paper thus making an inappropriate organization. But having realized the importance of making a thesis statement I have less trouble organizing main points of each paragraph. Even though it is hard to develop a solid and clear thesis, I understand its significance as it states the argument that reader will be reading. The first major assignment that we did this semester was the paper on Robert Sapolskys Ego Boundaries, or the Fit of My Fathers Shirt. This assignment was unique in its nature, as it demanded us to deeply analyze each and every part of the text: summarize it, reflect upon the ideas of the text by explaining them, and finally exploring our own experiences with those ideas. Clearly, the assignments goal was to teach us the proper way to understand texts, and integrate ideas that are present in texts with our own lives. I have to admit that in the beginning I had no idea how to complete the assignment, but with the clear directions that were provided, I managed to do it. It was very surprising when I realized that the writing process for this paper was very mechanical and precise. Before this paper, I always thought that writing such complicated papers required a lot of imagination, which I thought I did not have. However, now I understand that all that I needed to do is to read the tex t thoroughly, brainstorm for ideas, and to formulate the final version of the paper based on my ideas and on drafts that I previously wrote. I felt a huge satisfaction and relief after completion of the assignment, because I have learnt a huge lesson for myself from this assignment and I was ready for this type of tasks in the future. However, as confident as I felt after completing the Sapolsky paper, I had never imagined that there were different approaches to writing these kinds of essays. One of the major tasks was to write an essay based on a very complicated book by Ervin Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. This book was intended for large audiences with no particular knowledge about the study of psychology. Nevertheless, the text was very difficult to analyze as it contained many complicated words, intricate sentence structure, and allusions to other works on similar topics. . I felt overwhelmed by reading long and complicated literature because I thought I needed to remember every single detail that I read. However I learned to highlight the main ideas as I read so that I could go back and find details if I needed to recall on them for my essay. Due to this technique, I improved my analytical skill tremendously and was able to extract the main ideas throughout the text, and combine them to w rite a decent essay. The primary difficulties I faced doing this task were the abundance of scientific terms and the overall difficulty of the text. In order to understand the text, I had to read it carefully, part by part, so that I could get the connection between the ideas in the text. By taking notes every time I encountered something interesting and provoking, I managed to construct the outline for the essay. Then, writing the essay itself became much easier since I had all the ideas on my notes. The only thing I had to do to finish the assignment was to assemble the notes and combine them in meaningful sentences and in correct order to provide the essay with a proper flow and preciseness. The course has offered a wide range of reading and writing techniques and styles, thus helping me formulate the notion of clear, rich, and focused writing. The essays and papers we wrote this semester helped me formulate my own writing process, with help of which I can comfortably and very efficiently write papers based on academic readings that the university classes offer. As far as I am concerned, I have become a much more attentive reader and a much better writer since I took this class. I have to admit that I was rather skeptical about what the class had to offer me, but now I understand how important it was for me to be a part of this class and had such a valuable experience. With the knowledge that I have acquired during this semester, I am very eager to start working on papers and essays regarding my own field of specialization. Understanding other peoples stories In his article Understanding Other People Stories Roger Schank discusses the challenges people encounter when trying to understand each other. According to Schank, people frequently do not understand what others tell them. It is easier to remember a notion or a belief if it is told in a form of a story. He presents a theory that all the information, experience and events we understand are incorporated in a story that that we remember and share with others. Schank states that understanding means to respond to the speakers stories with stories of listeners own memory. People learn from stories if they can relate it to something that they previously knew. Moreover, we truly understand a new story only if it made us reexamine our previous stories. Throughout the text author talks about different things that are important to know about understanding other peoples stories. There is an interesting point that the author describes is a selective listening. People hear only some parts of the stories they are told and tend to listen to the ones that interest them. The reason for that is that we care about topics that we can understand and relate to. We cannot think of about all the possible ramifications of something we are being told. So we pay attention to what interests us (Schank, 374). He presents a notion about index, which is a kind of symbol that helps people classify all the stories they have in the memory. Schank describes it as [a]n index is a juxtaposition of another persons beliefs, made evident by statements or actions, with ones own beliefs (Schank, 380). We use them to label some stories of beliefs that we had before in our system of values. Furthermore, the author describes the topic about the way people understand stories as that they do it by reflecting their own stories onto the speakers stories. Understanding process of other peoples stories involves identifying ourselves to our own memories. We can use our own stories to confirm the beliefs of others that were imposed on a particular object. An example of this is my recent conversation with my parents. Last time using Skype, we were talking about my new life at Berkeley. I told them my story of getting used to my new environment that involved the difficulties and obstacles that I struggled with during the first month. There were a lot of challenges; I told them that it is really hard to study abroad, and particularly at such a place as Berkeley. I have troubles with a lot of things ranging from studying unfamiliar subjects to living in the dorm. Interestingly, their response was recalling their own time when they were students in college as I am now. And what they told me is that everybody goes through this process that I am neither the first one nor the last one. The academic year will pass quickly before I even notice it. I just need to be patient and do my best to succeed in college. I found their answer interesting, since I could see the relation of it to the idea that people understand stories by reflecting their own stories. My parents reflected my story to their own experience when they were in college. They saw my story as a story about them as a Subject 5 from the text did. They found an index of studying at college is difficult time and that everyone goes through this process. As a result they just confirmed their previously held beliefs about hard time at university. This is an example of the process when people understand a story by recalling their own memories. Another interesting idea that the author highlights in the article is that people often misunderstand other peoples stories by relating their own experience to the new story. When the listener hears a new story he finds an old story from his memory, which he can use to relate it to. However, the idea is that we usually find only one principle to relate a story, because it is enough for us. That is why each person understands stories in a different way. A good example of that could be how I personally got confused when I was reading Robert Sapolskys Ego boundaries or the Fit of my Father Shirt. At first, I misunderstood the nitroglycerin bottle as the bottle containing the ashes of the authors father. This happened because of the word frailty, which I thought to be remains of his father, but having discussed this article in the class I realized that this was just a medicine that his father used to take. This misunderstanding happened because of my previous experiences with the word fr ailty. I related the context of the text as a story about people who hold ashes of their ancestors in a vase, since it is important and sacred remains of their loved ones. Because I initially knew a story about such people I just related it to the new story that I have read. My index was that people remember and honor deceased relatives in way of storing their ashes. I had a belief that people often keep the ashes of their ancestors after the death, so that they have some part of the deceased person to relate to him. Thus recalling a previously known story to understand a new one led me to misunderstanding the core context. This example proves the idea that people often misunderstand stories by reflecting their own meanings on it. To learn from the story you need to enhance the old story with details that you matched with a new one. Because people tend to understand other peoples stories mainly through reflecting the stories they previously knew, the question then arises: How do people get beyond this circle of understanding and learning new things? Schank answers this with a contradictory approach. He argues that it happens due to irregularity in understanding stories. By not fully understanding the story they learn something new easily since that piece of information gets stuck in their memories for a while when they identify the mistake afterwards., as he points this out, [w]e really only learn when the stories we hear relate to beliefs that we feel rather unsure of, ones that we are flirting with at the moment, so to speak. When we are wondering, consciously or unconsciously, about the truthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, then the evidence provided by others can be of some use (Schank, 388). Schank believes that people c an learn something new only when they ask questions and analyze their views. For example, in the Sapolskys article Ego boundaries or the Fit of my Father Shirt, the author describes the relationship with his father, and the way he thought about his father as a mentally ill person. He tries to use his previously known stories such as scientific knowledge of the disorders to explain the illness of his father. His index is that science can explain everything. He uses his understanding of mental disorder to examine the behavior of his father. As a result, Sapolsky considers his father as a scientific case not as a father. Using his scientific knowledge he tries to explain that his father had split brain disorder that led to vanishing of his ego boundaries. However, through the process, he realizes that he is not able to justify his previously believed thoughts about his father as a mentally ill patient, because the science could not answer all of the questions the author had. In the end he understands that the problem was not in the diagnosis, but in the attitude towards the problems he had with his father. Thus, he teaches himself a new story: by reexamining his previously held beliefs about an index that scientific approach can explain everything in the life. In the conclusion we can see that the process of understanding other peoples stories is complicated. Understanding involves such process as indexing, finding old stories to relate, and reflecting them to the new ones. We usually do it by relating our own stories to the new stories that we hear, but finding similar elements in our own story and the story being told is different to all people. Therefore, we learn from new stories if we rethink our previously held beliefs. The Role of Thefts in Theft The main topic in Joyce Carol Oatess Theft are the different kinds of thefts. Theft in the story appears to take both physical and intangible forms such as stealing pens, wallets, personalities, authority and reputation. Theft is a zero-sum game with no win-win outcome. That is a fundamental idea which lies throughout Oates story. Peoples vulnerabilities, bad habits and motivations of hatred are resembled through these thefts. The author presents several facts of theft to allow a reader to analyze motives of a thief, his/her psychology and consequences of such their acts. The main character, a college sophomore, Marya Knauer has a complex and ambiguous attitude towards theft. She perceives it as a weakness, which prevails over her sense of moral duty and voice of reason, but also as a tool that she believes can empower her. Her first stealing experience began with silly little shoplifting expeditions which insensibly rose into a sequence of spontaneous, rash and pointless thefts (143). Admittedly, stealing gave her a feeling of elation and triumph when she appropriated someones genuinely valuable possessions. It can be inferred that Marya clearly understood that her habit to steal was disgusting but she could not resist any opportunity to do so. It seems she sought excitement and a dose of adrenaline by getting involved in risky and morally unacceptable affairs. Moreover, Marya considered theft as an act of liberating herself when her personal life was constrained and dictated by others will, when she had had to submit to the routine schedule of Wilmas household and she was living her life as it were nothing more than an extension of theirs (142). Stealing made her feel free because she could transgress the bounds of decency, disregard rules, and neglect prohibitions without being caught and taken into accountability. She could hardly fight her impulse even though her euphoria lasted fraction of a second. For Marya stealing was a way of seeking revenge from people who tried to take advantage from her. She stole a pen from a professor who did not give her a good grade, because he lost some of her work during grading. Having put much effort in studying, she took everything too seriously what resulted in professor calling her rather grim as she was always thinking only about academics. The reaction to such rude remark was her lying about her mo ther serious illness and stealing the professors pen. Marya felt her pulses were beating hot, in triumphed for a way of defeating the professor for the words he said and for the grades he gave (158). Moreover, she did not feel guilty or ashamed because she believed that professor deserved this. She started using this pen signing her name repeatedly, hypnotically: Marya, Marya, Marya Knauer, Marya Marya Marya Knauer, a name that eventually seemed to have been signed by someone else, a stranger (159). She saw this act of stealing as triumph over the professor, who tried to hurt Maryas identity. Interestingly, theft takes on a more sophisticated form when it comes to reading. The reading she did acquired an aura, a value, a mysterious sort of enchantment (142). It was perceived as a forbidden fruit, something illicit, precious beyond estimation (142). Indeed, she could be completely immersed in reading, slipping out of her consciousness and into that of the writers (142). She found herself entirely absorbed into writers ideas and mentality as if her mind was led by an invisible hand, and that experience was electrifying and hypnotizing. It prompted her to conceive life as an ephemeral and to regard everything as superficial and trivial. Mere life was the husk, the actors performance, negligible in the long run (142). Reading as a process was equally elating and exciting as stealing but not criminal and risky. Maryas personality was splitting and she started losing authenticity while making her way through writers imagination, greedily reading every word as it was her own, tr eating every emotion, idea expressed and the plot itself as her own creation. Maryas addiction to reading can be expressed by absence of any intrigue in her personal life, which Oates describes as isolated, ascetic, and monotonous (143). Reading is treated as a one-sided relationship which she benefits from without giving anything back. When the book Marya read seemed to take life through her, she could get her emotions, which are usually experienced and nurtured through building relations with other people. The first theft that is depicted in the story happens with Marya, when her wallet with a month salary from part time job at university library and her favorite pen were stolen from her room in Maynard House. These incidents made Marya become anxious and angry, feeling unprotected before the real world. It ruined her previous impressions of the university life and made her very cautious and even distrustful for other students. Marya decided to isolate from the world by staying in her room all the time and reading every book she could find. (142). As a consequence she became a complete robot, having a derelict life, because she could not trust anyone in her dormitory anymore. Marys isolated living and unsocial behavior reflects her attitude towards friendship. She asserts that friendship is a waste of time on something ephemeral and not worthwhile (154). Marya is completely obsessed with studying; her energy is devoted to maintaining high grades. However, relationship with Imogene alters her perception of the friendship. It evolves from a friendly acquaintance to admiration, mutual benefit, envy, competition, ignorance and culminates in break up. Imogene is presented as a chameleon playing various roles in public, quickly adapting her behavior to changing circumstances, and changing her mood and attitudes frequently. Her inquisitive character and easygoing informality are seen by Marya as intrusion into her privacy, her secret isolation. Marya and Imogene become interdependent but they are not interested in the actual friendship. Maryas life changed drastically when she met Imogene Skillman. The first time when Imogene appeared in the dorm room, Marya was depressed and reduced the protection level from the world. Marya recognized from the first look that Imogene was somewhat unique person, not resembling other student on the campus. But Marya could not fully understand what Imogenes real personality was. After spending more time with Imogene, Marya still did not acknowledge that they are becoming friends. She always questioned herself if she appreciated Imogenes friendship and even accepted that she liked Prhyllis more (153). This girl majored in mathematics and lived next-door, and according to Maryas system of values of true friendship Philly was a best match as an appropriate company. In spite of Phyllis being more likeable friend, Marya could not stop thinking that she is more inclined towards Imogene. Marya is flattered by Imogenes attention; she accompanies her to coffee shop, meets with her friends trying to impress them. Marya cautiously succumbs to Imogenes admiration and tolerates flattery since she fears becoming dependent on her friendship, for dependency is equivalent to limited freedom. Her protest against Imogenes influence and domination is expressed in the intense concentration on her academic performance. She threw herself into work with more passion than before, eager to face challenges and vindicate that her intellectual achievements demonstrate her wealth, thus soft power (154). The difficulties in friendship that Marya and Imogene had with each other originate from different backgrounds they had before. First, Marya came from a poor family, where she had to obey restrictions and authority. On the contrary, Imogene being from a rich family had a nonchalant life with lots of freedom and opulence. The thefts that are illustrated in the story had a great influence on the development of the relationship between main characters. Thus, thefts caused Marya and Imogene to realize what true friendship is. However, Marya and Imogene have never become best friends, because Imogene, in contrast, had plans of her own about Marya. Imogene stole Maryas time by spending time in the coffee shops with her friends, stole characteristics of Maryas personality like mimicking in order to perform on stage, and rumored bad things about Maryas reputation. But when Marya realized that Imogene was using her for own purposes, she immediately felt deceived and angry. However, even though Marya understood Imogenes true intentions, she could not stop having relationships with Imogene. Marya discovered Imogenes true nature at the dinner in a sorority house where Marya was invited as a guest. When she heard that Imogene made Matthew write a paper on Chekhov for herself, Marya began suspecting the true Imogenes intentions and desires (163). Her suspicion grew up more when Marya knew about Imogenes cheating on her fiancà © with a stranger. Imogene did it on purpose to make Marya and Matthew jealous of her. After all these underprivileged activities of Imogene, Marya begins to realize that she has become Imogenes possession, a trophy displayed to her alleged admirers, just a decoration in her one-actor performance. Marya rethinks her concept of friendship writing that it is play-acting of an amateur type and a puzzle that demands too much of imagination (154). Maryas protest against Imogenes influence and domination is expressed in the stealing the earrings of Imogene the Aztec ones, the barbarian-princess ones (175). The author wittingly emphasizes the earrings design to show that they symbolize Imogenes social status, popularity and dominance on the campus. Stealing in this case epitomizes betrayal and presumably attempt to appropriate Imogenes privileges. Unlike Maryas previous inconsequential thefts this case has a major impact on both characters. She did it on purpose to get everyones attention to her, to show that Marya was stronger than all the disloyalties and intrigues against her. She even pierced her ears, risking infection and sickness, and showed everyone that she is truly a nut that cant be cracked (174). Marya felt triumphant, she did not fear being caught up and punished. In contrast, Marya had worn earrings everywhere, for everyone to see, to comment, and to admire and she had been amused at Imogenes shocked expression (17 6). That theft left no winner. Imogene and Maryas friendship was completely ruined. Both students driven by envy and competition have been contributing to gradual erosion of their relationship by covertly and sometimes explicitly stealing each others intangible possessions. Various thefts depicted in the story tell readers about the many different circumstances that Marya and Imogenes friendship had to go through. Marya Knauer is a vivid instance of a strong willed personality. Despite all of the hostile and embarrassing obstacles and actions towards her, she managed to overcome and keep the perfect record, so that to save her status and character unbroken. The effects of stereotype threats Whistling Vivaldi by Claude M. Steele is a thorough analysis of a concept known as identity contingency. According to Steele, contingencies are circumstances you have to deal with because of a given social identity. Identity contingencies from the authors perspective represent constraints, both formal and implicit, tied to social, ethnic, religious, gender or any other recognized identity (3). Identity contingencies negatively affect individuals since they deprive those prone to being stereotyped or discriminated of equal opportunities, and abilities. Steeles research interest in identity contingencies and the roles they play in peoples lives stems from his personal experience of segregation. He reflects on his childhood when he was a victim of racial order in the 1950s, which placed a number of restrictions tied to the identity, from housing and school segregation to employment discrimination (3). Those conditions made individuals feel their racial identities and deal with their neg ative implications in everyday life. Steele focuses his research on educational issues tied to identity contingencies and their influence on academic performance among minority college students. The author argues that identity contingencies and specifically stereotype threats negatively impact the intellectual abilities of students; moreover he encourages exploring and implementing solutions to alleviate the stress and underperformance in academic setting in order to help students succeed at university. The aim of the research is to prove the importance of identity contingencies and of understanding identity threat to personal and societal progress (Steele, p.15). Steele comes up with several general patterns of findings. The first is the role identity contingency have in shaping individual lives. The second suggests that their negative impact contributes to the most important social problems in society, thus undermining social integrity. Third is a general process by which stereotype threats interfere with a broad range of human functioning. Finally, they offer a set of solutions that can alleviate effects of the identity threats. At the forefront of Steeles analysis is a stereotype threat, a particular kind of identity contingency. He speculates that stereotype threat embodies a standard human predicament, powerful enough to constrain behavior simply by putting a threat in the air. It is a widespread phenomenon found in any given society and any potential identity group can become subjected to it. It can be applied to any situation to which stereotype is relevant. Thus, it follows members of the stereotyped group into these situations as a balloon over their heads (Steele, p. 5). The author asserts that it is hard to eradicate stereotype threats, though the pressure they impose on individuals can be eased. Stereotype threat is an intrinsic part of human interrelations, a tool used by individuals, driven by a basic instinct of competition. Unlike discrimination in its gross forms, stereotype threats are formed subconsciously to benefit privileges of one social group, competing for opportunity and decent life, at the expense of the other group. The correlation between identity contingency and intellectual performance, in particular academic, preoccupies Steele throughout his research. He sheds light on the issue of academic underperformance of students from underrepresented backgrounds. The problem he believes has repercussions at a nationwide level, even though people think they live in a racially fair and identity-fair society (212). He perceives it as a core American struggle, wherein institutions try to integrate themselves racially, ethnically, class-wise (Steele, p. 17). In his attempt to reveal what factors account for persistent academic struggles of minority students, Steele uses a concept known as observers actors perspective. The actors perspective emphasizes students characteristics, their intellectual luggage, aspirations, values, skills, and expectations. He accesses that the actors perspective can be essential in explaining underperformance since the observers perspective alone cannot provide the full pictur e of the problem. His research appeals to E. Jones and R. Nisbett concept of the difference between those two perspectives. They argued that the observers perspective is subject to bias because it stresses the things we can see, the actors traits and characteristics. But it deemphasizes these traits and characteristics which fall out of the observers literal and mental visual field, namely circumstances the actor responds to and the environment he has to adapt to. Steele believes that the actors perspective can offer a plausible explanation of the link between identity contingency and intellectual performance. The feedback he receives from minority students supports his view. Students noted the university environment, wherein their social status was subtly accentuated and social life which was organized by race, ethnicity, and social class. This organization led to a rather racially homogeneous teaching staff and faculty. As a result, their social networks were organized by race. They were also puzzle d by the fact that minority styles, interests and preferences were marginalized on campus (Steele, p. 19). Steele in his book presents several experiments conducted to demonstrate how stereotype threat indirectly affects behavior and interferes with physical or intellectual performance. Experiments he refers to, Michigan Athletic Aptitude Test and the one done at Princeton University, clearly show that the pressure stereotype threat is distracting enough to lead to individuals failure in particular task. The task in experiment measured the very trait and ability the group was stereotyped as lacking. Knowledge of the negative stereotypes relevance in the given situation made the assessed group fear that frustration on the task could be misinterpreted and seen as confirming the stereotype. Hence, any deviation in performance, whether mental or physical, or a false move could cause an individual to be reduced to the stereotype and treated accordingly. Steele admits that it is hard to prove that something abstract like stereotype threat can have a substantial effect on the individuals perform ance. Nonetheless, the research and experiments he undertakes supports his hypothesis of stereotype threats detrimental effect on individual performance. His research focus raises a number of thought-provoking questions about the ways stereotypes affect our intellectual functioning, stress reactions, and the tension that can exist between different groups. Moreover, he explores strategies that alleviate these effects in order to help solve societal problems (Steele, p. 13). Steele conducts an experiment to prove that academic achievement problem of minority students is not entirely due to skill and ability deficits. He contends that external factors and social and psychological aspects of academic experience can be powerful enough to directly or indirectly impair intellectual performance. Hence, the environment and status of a student can be an actual component of ability. Steele comes up with a stigmatization idea, an idea that a devalued social status can cause und

Argentina and Bose Corporation :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework Essays

Argentina and Bose Corporation Bose Corporation has had products of audio system, called â€Å"Home Theater System†. It’s a perfect audio system, just like or even better than the sound we can hear from movie theaters. On the system, there is a music center, which is connected to all input and output cables and a big amplifier, which controls the bass and treble. For your information, in music center, you can both enjoy the CD player and radio for basic functions; and outputs for surrounding sound quality for video watching, and tape listening. Categories: LifeStyle 30 & 25 & 20 & 12 & 8 & 5 & 3 *Below is the Picture of Bose LifeStyle 25 Home Theater System 1. Driving global forces: a) Market needs and wants: Many people may think that in Argentina, the economic may not be that well since it is between underdeveloped and developing country. However, after I talked to my friends, who has ever lived in Argentina for a while, I know that in Argentina, there are still many people who are rich. The situation in Argentina may be extreme disparity between the rich and the poor, however, that doesn’t means that people there does not have marketing needs and wants. I believe that for those rich people, they might want to have the best quality of music and sound. Besides, the restaurant and disco club owners may want to have a better sound quality in order to attract more guests and customers. I guess most of people would know that most of Argentines love music, and they think music is one of the most important thing in their lives. Therefore, I believe marketing needs and wants is one of the forces. We may see from the following article that I picked up from the web that how Argentina accepts business of imports and exports of electronics: â€Å"Argentine companies involved in the appliance and electronics industries produce primarily for the domestic market. Exports are shipped mostly to Mercosur countries. Products include refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, air conditioners, television sets, radios, and video cassette recorders (VCRs). In recent years production of refrigerators and washing machines has been about 700,000 units each. Little Argentine production is exported outside Mercosur, although certain niche markets are served by high quality Argentine manufacturers. These include specialty high-fidelity equipment designed for audiophiles willing to pay in the range of US$10,000 for equipment and for concert halls, theaters, and other buildings in need of high quality

Failure of Comet Essay

In the first part of this report, the writers focused on the process to undertake risk management, which including risk identification, analysis of probability and consequences, risk mitigation strategy and finally control and document. Subsequently, the writers did the analysis and hypothesis on how can risk management be helpful if De Havilland Company undertook risk management during the process of Comet project. While in the second part, the writers discussed different types of risk that related to the Comet project, such as, technical risk, financial risk, commercial risk and human resource risk. The most critical risk was technical risk because it may have lead to many problems, such as, damage of image, financial loss and unsalable product. Regarding the third part, the writers concluded the critical errors of the company made in the Comet project. In our opinion, one critical error was too big distinction of company pursue in a limited time. The research and development of high technology product itself implied huge risk and uncertainty that have to be handled within a certain period of time, let alone fulfill the extra new design elements in a short period. Another problem was their slow reaction of accident. They were over dependent on the opinion of designer, but in fact, the subjective judgment of designers didnt lead the company to get out of the trouble. In the final part, the writers reviewed the statement Fail is the price we pay for technological advancementand noticed that although risk management may help organizations face those risks and reduce their loss, risk cannot be total avoided in general. Without failures, our society may not be so developed. How risk management could have aided in Comet project As we know,

Effective approach to summary writing

Effective approach to summary writing Summary writing tips If you are able to produce a great piece of summary writing, it means that you know how to analyze works thoroughly. Thus, when reading your paper, users will clearly understand the message you want to convey to them. It may be complicated to produce such a work, as it should be concise as well as informative. Nevertheless, if you take the steps provided below, you will learn to write a superior summarizing piece. Make a detailed analysis At this stage, you need to scan the text you are going to analyze. Then, divide it into units and pay close attention to headings. Make sure that you know the meanings of the terms that are used in the work which you need to summarize. Read the text When the process of preparation is completed, you may start reading the text. It is necessary to pay attention to the author’s writing style and methods used for formulating the key point of the work. It will help you produce a good summary. Reread the work At this point, you need to underline the arguments provided to develop author’s ideas. Furthermore, you should highlight the topic sentences. It is also useful to mark the paragraphs which you are going to make reference to when writing your paper. At the same time, you need to single out those parts of the text that do not provide any valuable information about the topic of the summarized work. One more tip on how to write a summary is to determine unclear sections of the text. Note that you have to clarify them. Start writing You have already divided the text into sections and underlined the key points of the analyzed work. Now, you may begin producing your paper. Start with formulating the main idea of each unit. Try to write it in one sentence. Produce a thesis statement Note that it is a fundamental element of summaries. When writing a summary, you need to formalize a good thesis statement. In order to achieve it, you should go back to the previous step and read the formulated main idea one more time. Then, present a statement that will show the central point of the work which you need to summarize. If any difficulties with producing a thesis occur, check whether the main idea is formulated clearly. Write the first draft Students are always eager to find out how to write a good summary. Actually, it is not very difficult. You should start with writing a draft. Note that a thesis statement can be an opening sentence of your paper. You have to make sure that the sentences are written in a logical order when constructing the body paragraphs. You should use different transitions to provide a smooth information flow. When preparing your work, you should also keep in mind the following points: Use the verbs in the present tense; Indicate the title of the analyzed text and author’s name; Provide information succinctly. Note that your essay summary should be shorter than the original composition. Cite quotations. Do not express your opinion about the analyzed text. Remember that your task is to convey the author’s message to readers. Make a thorough check You should read your paper and make sure that the author’s ideas are presented well. Â  In addition, check whether, the direct quotes are cited properly. You need to be certain that your work does not provide your comments on the text you have been analyzing. Make revision Note that summary essays have to be revised as well as other academic works. You need to check your paper for style, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. You may also ask one of your friends to read your paper. Ask them whether the essay is comprehensible. If there any unclear parts, you should revise them and provide more details to make your piece of writing coherent. Below, there is more useful information on how to write a summary paper in the best way. Consider the following: You should know that summaries should be concise. If you have to summarize a book, you need to analyze all its parts, i.e. beginning, climax, ending, etc. In order to make an interesting review, you should describe in detail the events happening in a book and its main characters. If your summary essay is outstanding, readers will understand easily what the analyzed book is about and where the discussed action takes place. One more type of summary writing is chapter summaries. What are their key features? Such a paper should briefly describe the events discussed in book chapters. Moreover, it should present the main idea of the book, indicate principal and minor characters, and describe the place where the action is performed. It is very useful to read such summaries. Do you want to know why? The point is that they provide valuable information about a particular character or event. Thus, you may use it for preparing your own work.

Book Review Sample of Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Book Review Sample of Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a specific genre. It requires both wisdom and honesty to write, whereas teenagers are the audience that does not forgive lies and sermons. Yet, they desperately seek for someone to give answers to their major questions about living and coming of age. Monster by Walter Dean Myers combines the unique form of narration with a message that makes to think about the sense and the consequences of actions and choices. The theme of adolescence is closely related to the themes of race and violence. Just like many young people, the main character is looking for a flock to stick to; thus, he makes mistakes that lead him to the threat of prison. Although written in a popular genre of young adult novel, the book is unique in the form and techniques, which the author uses in order to convey a message. It is a first person narration, which suggests that the novel is a confessional one. At the same time, the borderline between the real and the imaginary is quite thin, as the character writes a screenplay based on his life. This approach helps the author in combining the two perspectives: the first and the third person, because making his life a screenplay requires a necessity to view it in terms of the other peoples life. In the novel, the author describes the coming of age challenges that Steve Harmon, a sixteen-year-old teenager, faces. He is a black person and lives in Harlem, which makes his life closely linked to the aspects of race and violence. The author asks a question, to which extent such peoples lives are predetermined by their environment, and whether they are able to break the vicious circle that deprives that of any chance to live a different life. As a typical person of his age, Steve has a need to belong to a group of peers. In fact, he is being unaware of the path he chooses when joining a crew of violent guys who make him involved in a crime. ORDER FOR: $Â  11.99 document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function () { $("#miniorder_shorcode form").append($("", { "name": "_token", "value": window.Laravel.csrfToken, "type": "hidden" })); }); The author does not condemn the young men because he believes that their fate is confined to a narrow range of opportunities in a tough black Harlem neighborhood. Early in their lives they become cynical about the world as they have to learn how to survive under the pressure close to the bottom of social hierarchy. At the same time, the author implies that despite the fact that there is a limited number of options for these people, there is always a moral choice to make. Steve fails to make the right choice when choosing the company because of his adolescence and lack of experience. As a sixteen year boy, he strives to find and reinforce his identity as a man, and his ideas of manhood are quite immature. It often happens that teenagers fail to distinguish between true masculinity and violence, and this is the case with Steve. He might realize that the company of older hooligan guys is probably not the best option for him, yet he is attracted by their self-confidence, which he lacks a t the point. Besides, he is not aware of how far this can go, until he gets involved in a drugstore robbery with an accidental murder of a person. So, alongside with the rest of the crew he has to face the trial. However, Steve is lucky to get help and understanding from Kathy OBrien who defends him. The attorney realizes that the boy is different from the rest of the guys. Moreover, he is not a monster as Sandra Petrocelli names him and James King. In fact, the author traces the roots of monstrosity as a social phenomenon, which often starts in adolescence. He implies that becoming a monster, an outcast or rebel, is not always a conscious choice but often a result of unfortunate coincidences, lack of experience or wrong judgment. A victim has all chances to become a monster too when getting into malicious environment as it is the case with Steve. The outcome of the trial is fortunate for Steve; with the help of his attorney he is let free as he is announced not guilty. At the same time, he does not have the feeling of finality because he still questions his own identity. In the course of the events, he goes several steps in the direction of more maturity. He learns more about the right and the wrong. Yet, he is not quite satisfied about the verdict, although he is happy to be free. Deep inside, he is not sure whether he is not guilty and whether the wrong choice that he made has not turned him into a bad person. The tone of the whole book is gloomy, and there is not a sharp contrast between the mood at the beginning and the end. Consequently, this implies that the main character does not feel satisfied: he is not in a real prison but because of his environment his life is like prison too, as he has not much choice. All in all, the novel raises a whole number of issues which accompany the theme of adolescence. The author demonstrates how environment shapes a personality and how ones identity can be shaken by one mistake that a person makes as a teenager. The book also highlights the problems that young black people face in a neighborhood, where they have little chance to start a different life.